EN-EL4a Battery - Battery Age and Calibration

[arikevin]

Hello everyone.

I bought an EN-EL4a battery from another photographer. He claimed this battery has not been used before. Indeed, i believed him as there is no sign of usage. Pristine condition. As the battery is flat, I could not verify and he did not have the charger anymore.

I did a full charge but unable to perform calibration function. Few hours later, after the battery is fully-charged, I popped it into my D3S and found the battery age to "0".
I left it overnight to do calibration and come morning, the battery age is "1".

Has this ever happened to you before where the battery age jumped from 0 to 1 after calibration?

Did I just "accidentally" wear the battery unnecessarily?
Is there any cause of concern if the battery age is at "1"? Will it still hold charge?


Jumped from 0 to 1 after calibration


Manufactured in year 2012 August?

 

[Denis Van der Staey]

Calibration does not wear the battery. After calibration, the battery state shown is accurate again.

At age 1, your battery is still in very good health, and should be good for several more years.

My EN-EL4a batteries purchased in 2010 are now at age 3, the ones from 2012 are at age 2, and those from 2014-2017 are at age 1. Only one, from 2015, is still at age 0.

When they are worn out eventually, the battery state will show “Replace”. Then it’s time to dispose of it. You will notice it, because the charging time for full load will increase, and the battery gets hotter on the charger.

--

Denis

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

A Li Ion from 2012 left sitting discharged. I am amazed it still works at all and isn't puffed up to where it cracked the housing at this point.

The first reading was out of whack. The second is closer to reality. I expect it will change to 2 after a couple more cycles. I also expect you won't get many uses out of it before it is time to recycle. But, maybe you will luck out. It really all depends on how long it sat discharged.

Stan

 

[arikevin]

Hi,

A Li Ion from 2012 left sitting discharged. I am amazed it still works at all and isn't puffed up to where it cracked the housing at this point.

The first reading was out of whack. The second is closer to reality. I expect it will change to 2 after a couple more cycles. I also expect you won't get many uses out of it before it is time to recycle. But, maybe you will luck out. It really all depends on how long it sat discharged.

Stan

I have no idea how long the seller let it sit. From what he said, it sounded quite awhile.

I am doing calibration cycle again. I will keep everybody informed.

 

[arikevin]

Calibration does not wear the battery. After calibration, the battery state shown is accurate again.

At age 1, your battery is still in very good health, and should be good for several more years.

My EN-EL4a batteries purchased in 2010 are now at age 3, the ones from 2012 are at age 2, and those from 2014-2017 are at age 1. Only one, from 2015, is still at age 0.

When they are worn out eventually, the battery state will show “Replace”. Then it’s time to dispose of it. You will notice it, because the charging time for full load will increase, and the battery gets hotter on the charger.

Thank you for your reply. I hope it can last me as long as the camera. It is kind of hard to procure EN-EL4a now.

 

[Schrodingers_cat]

It is kind of hard to procure EN-EL4a now.

Interesting.

EN-EL4a batteries, in both Nikon OEM and 3rd party versions, are readily available at B & H and Adorama, as well as Nikon dealers. Is this a local shortage?

This variety of battery technology doesn't like being stored in a completely discharged state. You might find the life shorter than expected.

 

[arikevin]

Hi,

A Li Ion from 2012 left sitting discharged. I am amazed it still works at all and isn't puffed up to where it cracked the housing at this point.

The first reading was out of whack. The second is closer to reality. I expect it will change to 2 after a couple more cycles. I also expect you won't get many uses out of it before it is time to recycle. But, maybe you will luck out. It really all depends on how long it sat discharged.

Stan

I have no idea how long the seller let it sit. From what he said, it sounded quite awhile.

I am doing calibration cycle again. I will keep everybody informed.

Calibration done and it still shows number “1” for the age. I guess it was left completely discharged for at least a few years.

 

[arikevin]

It is kind of hard to procure EN-EL4a now.

Interesting.

EN-EL4a batteries, in both Nikon OEM and 3rd party versions, are readily available at B & H and Adorama, as well as Nikon dealers. Is this a local shortage?

This variety of battery technology doesn't like being stored in a completely discharged state. You might find the life shorter than expected.

Perhaps there is a shortage in Singapore market.

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Cool! Now, use it for a cycle or two and see how it does. That's the acid test, pardon the pun. It'll probably be OK, and you'll keep it charged up so it ought to age normally from this point.

Stan

 

[arikevin]

Hi,

Cool! Now, use it for a cycle or two and see how it does. That's the acid test, pardon the pun. It'll probably be OK, and you'll keep it charged up so it ought to age normally from this point.

Stan

 

[yray]

Calibration does not wear the battery. After calibration, the battery state shown is accurate again.

At age 1, your battery is still in very good health, and should be good for several more years.

My EN-EL4a batteries purchased in 2010 are now at age 3, the ones from 2012 are at age 2, and those from 2014-2017 are at age 1. Only one, from 2015, is still at age 0.

When they are worn out eventually, the battery state will show “Replace”. Then it’s time to dispose of it. You will notice it, because the charging time for full load will increase, and the battery gets hotter on the charger.

I have a bunch of EN-EL4a batteries which I have been using for years never bothering to check the age. But this thread inspired me to look, and I'm finding a few batteries at age 4. My assumption is that they won't hold charge quite as well as the newer batteries, but there is no harm in continuing to use them as long as they work, -- or is there?

On the other hand, looks like it might be the right time for me to go battery shopping again.

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

The first risk is that an old Li-Ion battery just doesn't work for long. So, not much of a risk as long as you have a new(er) spare on hand. If it just suddenly quits, just swap it out. Might miss a shot or two, but there you are.

The second risk is that they tend to produce gas. The battery cell(s) is sealed, so nowhere for the gas to go. It just puffs up. A little at first, but more and more as time marches on. They tend to get stuck inside the devices at the least. Sometimes, they damage other things with the mechanical pressure.

I have a client with some returned devices coming in with end of life batteries. They are buried inside and so now they have other faults caused by puffy Li Ion batteries. The failures are varied, which is why they involved me, but the root cause is the same. When they designed the things, no one thought of this or that the devices would still be in use so many years down the road (10-12 yrs).

Stan

--
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer
Once you start down the DSLR path, forever will it dominate your destiny! Consume
your bank account, it will! Like mine, it did!

 

[yray]

Hi,

The first risk is that an old Li-Ion battery just doesn't work for long. So, not much of a risk as long as you have a new(er) spare on hand. If it just suddenly quits, just swap it out. Might miss a shot or two, but there you are.

The second risk is that they tend to produce gas. The battery cell(s) is sealed, so nowhere for the gas to go. It just puffs up. A little at first, but more and more as time marches on. They tend to get stuck inside the devices at the least. Sometimes, they damage other things with the mechanical pressure.

I have a client with some returned devices coming in with end of life batteries. They are buried inside and so now they have other faults caused by puffy Li Ion batteries. The failures are varied, which is why they involved me, but the root cause is the same. When they designed the things, no one thought of this or that the devices would still be in use so many years down the road (10-12 yrs).

Stan

 

[Pygmi]

I have a bunch of EN-EL4a batteries which I have been using for years never bothering to check the age. But this thread inspired me to look, and I'm finding a few batteries at age 4. My assumption is that they won't hold charge quite as well as the newer batteries, but there is no harm in continuing to use them as long as they work, -- or is there?

I have been using EN-EL4a that has been showing age 4 for couple of years. For sure it is not as good as new. I just used that two days ago in my D3s and after 350+ shots the battery shows 63% left. So, roughly 1000 shots per charge. If I remember correctly new battery gives several thousand shots... But even this 1000 shots per charge works for me.

 

[yray]

I have a bunch of EN-EL4a batteries which I have been using for years never bothering to check the age. But this thread inspired me to look, and I'm finding a few batteries at age 4. My assumption is that they won't hold charge quite as well as the newer batteries, but there is no harm in continuing to use them as long as they work, -- or is there?

I have been using EN-EL4a that has been showing age 4 for couple of years. For sure it is not as good as new. I just used that two days ago in my D3s and after 350+ shots the battery shows 63% left. So, roughly 1000 shots per charge. If I remember correctly new battery gives several thousand shots... But even this 1000 shots per charge works for me.

I'm less concerned about the charge it can hold and more about the potential for damaging the camera, even if the likelihood is small. I also thought it was prudent to stock on batteries because my 10 year old cameras may last another 5 or 10 years, or however long, while it is anyone's guess how long the batteries will remain available.

 

[arikevin]

I have a bunch of EN-EL4a batteries which I have been using for years never bothering to check the age. But this thread inspired me to look, and I'm finding a few batteries at age 4. My assumption is that they won't hold charge quite as well as the newer batteries, but there is no harm in continuing to use them as long as they work, -- or is there?

I have been using EN-EL4a that has been showing age 4 for couple of years. For sure it is not as good as new. I just used that two days ago in my D3s and after 350+ shots the battery shows 63% left. So, roughly 1000 shots per charge. If I remember correctly new battery gives several thousand shots... But even this 1000 shots per charge works for me.

I'm less concerned about the charge it can hold and more about the potential for damaging the camera, even if the likelihood is small. I also thought it was prudent to stock on batteries because my 10 year old cameras may last another 5 or 10 years, or however long, while it is anyone's guess how long the batteries will remain available.

I guess D3S, or any Nikon Pro cameras in this matter, can last a long time.

My opinion is based on my entry-level Nikon D70, that was bought in year 2004, and it is still alive and kicking even though I missed out on the circuit board replacement exercise that was conducted. It is a 15 year-old now.

The main concern is to find original battery or certain wear-and-tear parts. Let's just wait Nikon still produces them.

 

[arikevin]

I have a bunch of EN-EL4a batteries which I have been using for years never bothering to check the age. But this thread inspired me to look, and I'm finding a few batteries at age 4. My assumption is that they won't hold charge quite as well as the newer batteries, but there is no harm in continuing to use them as long as they work, -- or is there?

I have been using EN-EL4a that has been showing age 4 for couple of years. For sure it is not as good as new. I just used that two days ago in my D3s and after 350+ shots the battery shows 63% left. So, roughly 1000 shots per charge. If I remember correctly new battery gives several thousand shots... But even this 1000 shots per charge works for me.

Thanks for the figures.

Even if it is at age "4", I guess I will not be able to shoot 1000 frames in a day.

 

[Canadianguy]

Do you know how to solder?

The battery is just three 18650 cells - same kind of cells used by Tesla...they just use 444 of them / pack.

 

[chromophore]

Thanks for the figures.

Even if it is at age "4", I guess I will not be able to shoot 1000 frames in a day.

Mine is age 4 on my D3s, I shot some 2500 Raws with motor last week and still had 40% capacity. I think you are good to go.

 

[arikevin]

Thanks for the figures.

Even if it is at age "4", I guess I will not be able to shoot 1000 frames in a day.

Mine is age 4 on my D3s, I shot some 2500 Raws with motor last week and still had 40% capacity. I think you are good to go.

Thank you for your reassurance on this.

When you said "2500 RAWs with motor", what does the motor mean? Is it Continuous high mode?